Good evening. My family and I took a trip over to Gulfport, MS today to see the Celtic Music Festival and Scottish Highland Games.
We never stop at the first rest stop in MS, but we did this time. My sister accidentally hit the 'hood' button while getting gas before we started the trip so we had to stop to make sure the hood to the car was completely down!!
The restrooms at the rest stop are.....hmm.....bizarre. The water is brown in the toilets and the water in the sinks feels slimy. I'm not sure if that is the correct term for the water, but it feels like you haven't washed your hands.
The outside of the rest stop made up for the restrooms. An artist made sculptures out of trees that had fallen during Hurricane Katrina. Several of his 'tree' sculptures are at this rest stop and other places in MS.
Thirty plus minutes later and after going through some back roads of Gulfport, we arrived at the Harrison County Fairgrounds. We could hear the jousting competition starting as we were waiting in line to pay to get in. Luckily they hadn't started yet, they were introducing the horses and doing other tricks.
The jousting horses were beautiful. I always wonder if the horses with the shaggy hooves do well in southern weather. You would think they would get hot in the summer.
The bleachers were packed so we were standing on the opposite side with a few spectators, professional photographers, and volunteer police officers.
After watching the jousting, we walked over to the artisan's area. Of course, one of the first tables we came across was selling British/Welsh/Irish baked goods and desserts.
My sister persuaded me to get a bowl of bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Nothing says ruin your diet like bread pudding, but you know what? It was worth every single calorie and inch to my waistline!
I made my sister and my mom break their diets as well. No sense in me being the only bad person in the group. LOL
Periodically they had a mini parade of people playing Scottish bagpipes and drums accompanied by each clan walking in procession. It was interesting to see how few people were in the Campbell clan, but not surprising considering their history.
We saw a pen full of sheep, which was quite sad. They were terrified of everyone and were grouped together and standing completely still. Poor things! I'm sure they just wanted to go home to their nice, grassy farm.
Several vendors were demonstrating their crafts. This lovely lady had a company called The Fiber Chicken. She makes her own yarn, by spinning and dying fibers. She crochets, knits, and tats. Quite the crafty lady. She had some beautiful shawls that she had made, but they were expensive. One made of 100% alpaca was $650.
I have a feeling that she probably sells more of her yarn at $45 per skein than her handmade shawls. I don't fault her the price especially considering the process involved.
At the end of the artisan's area, there were several tents set up for 'living' history. I took a picture of older gentleman showing off the tapestry that he was working on. Talk about having a love of your craft and having the patience to complete it.
You remember the bread pudding? Well, we bought some things from two vendors who were selling sweets......traditional Welsh cakes (I love currants!!), a loaf of Irish soda bread, and an empire shortbread cookie (not pictured because....well, we ate it.....lol....but if you were wondering what it looked like, just think of a cherry bakewell tart from England. The icing reminds me of the empire shortbread topping and instead of cherry, it had strawberry jam, which was divine!)
I am hoping to persuade my friends to go with me next year to the Celtic festival or maybe one of the medieval fairs. It would be great to spend the day there. Take some food for a picnic and enjoy the performances.
I hope you all had a wonderful Saturday.
Until next time ^____^
